New to backing up

[berberman]

Hello, i have some very basic questions about using a backing up program.

I used to copy paste all my Macbook pro's documents, music and photos to my external hardrive manually. I would like to use a backup program such as SD and hence would like to know the following before doing so:

-how it's different from doing it the manual way (copying and pasting)
-if it does save the applications and programs
- and finally to what extent it restores your data: does it restore your files only or does it restore the exact way you had for example your screensaver set, your wallpaper, your documents layed out on the desktop, and the programs on the dock. (is that what we call a disk image?)

Thanks for the answers.

[dnanian]

- You can't copy/paste your drive (applications/system/etc) -- it's just not possible to do.

- We do save applications/programs/OS/etc.

- Since your copy is bootable, it's really exactly as it was.

[berberman]

- You can't copy/paste your drive (applications/system/etc) -- it's just not possible to do.

- We do save applications/programs/OS/etc.

- Since your copy is bootable, it's really exactly as it was.

Thanks for the quick answer.

I know i can't save applications/programs. I meant i only used to save files.

Unfortunatly when runnins SD it's asking me to format my external drive to mac format :(
I am now transfering all the data i had to another drive so i dont loose it.

-Will i be able to save stuff on this same external drive from a pc now it's mac formated?

-Is the bootable image compressed or is it the size of the occupied space on my macbook's hard drive?

-When starting the app, shouldi select mac HD or disk image? (what's the deffinition of disk image anyway)

[dnanian]

You'll need to partition the drive into a FAT32 volume (for your PC) and an HFS+ volume (for your Mac), *or* use PC/Mac Drive (or its equivalent) on the PC to access Mac partitions.

It's best to make a partition the size of the source drive, since data always grows to fill the space you allocate. :)

Select "Mac HD" for the source and the destination partition/volume as the destination. Don't use "Disk Image..." (that's a single file that contains a "drive").

[berberman]

Great thanks!